monty2 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 (edited) Recently a client bought a valentine tank MK5. Currently it is restored to new condition over the next period will post pictures of progress. we will re-post the post soon in better sequence Edited August 16, 2015 by monty2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 an excellent project. I may well get a valentine myself in the future so I will follow your restoration with great interest. good luck rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Awesome. Keep the photos coming. Have you got the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_bish Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 great project. Looking forward to following this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoranWC51 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Not updated on the whereabouts of Valentine tanks, so where does this originate from? Sherman's appear on and off, but Valentines are hens teeth, as far as I know. Goran N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Good to see a British vehicle being restored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Not updated on the whereabouts of Valentine tanks, so where does this originate from? Sherman's appear on and off, but Valentines are hens teeth, as far as I know. Goran N New Zealand via the UK, I should imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnixartillery Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Looks like an Ex-playground Valentine ,typically gutted. Anything to do with you Mr Rowe ? Rob..................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Yes Rob, We have been engaged to restore this Valentine. We are starting in 2 weeks time, so watch this space. I have had a long association with the Valentine, which started in 1990, when I started the restoration of my first MK5. This one has been waiting patiently in my shed for 20 years, so now is the time for it to see daylight. Cheers Andrew Rowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmac Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Great starting point guys. I am happy to be able have helped in a very very small way with bringing the old girl back to life... Well she is helping me a bit too Best of luck with the hard work Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cingur Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 great project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 We have started in on the restoration . The hull is being gutted out of the existing parts that were left in from when it was a kids playground feature. I have started de-studding all the broken off bolts and extracting them out of their holes, followed by re- tapping threads , etc. The drivers roof, hatches and rear transmission doors have been removed, as we are taking the hull down to bath tub level and building it up from there. It is also easier for access when building back up, as many a Tank restorer will know the countless times you have to climb in and out for fitting parts.The Turret has been removed as it's own sub-unit. This just comes off by undoing a quantity of 3/8 BSF countersunk screws, some are screwed into the Hull and others just have nuts on, access is a little difficult in places to get spanners on, but is do-able. Cheers from the Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrylL Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Hi Andrew Is this the one that was in the park at Rotorua for many, many years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 No Daryl, Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersflyer Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Looks like an Ex-playground Valentine ,typically gutted. Anything to do with you Mr Rowe ? Rob..................rnixartillery. I remember back in the 80s there was a bren gun carrier & M10 tank destroyer at Thorp Arch...near Wetherby...amongst other bits n bobs they`d both been turned into playground stuff for kids.... wonder if they`r still there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 a Mk-V, interesting vehicle to say the least, Basically a Mk-III with US made GMC diesel. Used in North Africa, Malta, the kiwis in the Pacific, and by the Russians. which paint scheme/theater of war do you guys plan to represent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I remember back in the 80s there was a bren gun carrier & M10 tank destroyer at Thorp Arch...near Wetherby...amongst other bits n bobs they`d both been turned into playground stuff for kids.... wonder if they`r still there? No, both removed for restoration. The M10 features elsewhere on here, the Windsor carrier is almost finished after a long and difficult restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 We have started working on the steering clutch units, these consist of a series of fibre , then steel tooth disc's, that when forced together from the pressure of what I call the Heli-hub unit , transmits the drive outward to the final drives. When the pressure comes off the disc's they just free spin. These were NOS units with new seals and bearings. Cheers from the Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Either side of the steering clutch units , is the unit that forces the pressure on the drive clutches, and it also has a carbon footbrake band unit attached, this unit I call the Heli-hub unit as the sideways pressure is transmitted via a helical thread in a bronze hub. The turning motion of the Heli-hub is by way of 2 chains rapped around and connected to rods that run to the front of the driving controls . Adjustment pressure to the clutch plates is achieved by a bronze ring, that you rotate in and out, and then very important to re-lock the ring as it can undo itself when the Tank is in motion, and therefore you lose drive. Up front of the Tank in the driving controls are two special little over-centre devices that can increase pressure to the clutch disc's in an emergency , if you are losing drive ,so you do not have to get out of the Tank. Cheers from the Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redherring Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Either side ... Well, I sort of get it. Any chance you can whip up a diagram? Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Hi Robert , the Drive System , you have to remember it is a well designed British piece of engineering, for got to say that the clutch units have "Made in USA" stamped on them! Here is a pic of the drive system, starting with Bevel box behind gearbox in the middle of the Tank, then steering clutch units either side, then heli-hub engaging units either side of these, with flexi-coupling and then onto final drives. All very easy to get to from the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mill comms Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Valentine wreck? Durham http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/military-sites/30456-derelict-tank.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 that's not a valentine wreck, it's an A9/a10 but the suspension is the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Herbert Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 It's also Rick's next project ! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) This week we have pulled down the gearbox. The box is a Spicer, made in the USA, 5 speed sycomesh in 2nd and 3rd and 4th and 5th. The early Mk2 and Mk3 Valentine gearboxes were British made and were a 4 speed "crash " box. The box we had for this project had done little work, but I was not happy with the secondary main shaft gear, as where the first and reverse gear slides into the spline teeth on this main shaft ,did have some damage from engagement. This required us to pull down a further 6 boxes to get a shaft that had no damage. We are just awaiting the arrival of a couple of bearings from the USA and then we can complete the reassembly. Special attention has to be paid to the in put shaft seal, as the oil pump that pumps oil onto the front input shaft bearing can bypass this seal and leak down the housing that takes the clutch release bearing, which in turn leaks to the bottom of the bell housing and onto the ground. Here we use a high pressure seal good for 140 psi. Cheers from the Tank Factory. Edited September 20, 2015 by Andrew Rowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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